Night Watcher – Daphne Woolsoncroft

Released earlier this week!

Thank you Novel Suspects and Grand Central Pub for the gifted copy

NIGHT WATCHER – Daphne Woolsoncroft (Released July 8th, 2025)

Book Description:

Nola Strate, a late night call-in radio host in Portland, Oregon, listens to stories of hauntings and cryptic sightings for a living. But one foggy, wet evening, when a caller describes an eerie scene that triggers memories of Nola’s escape from a serial killer years before, she becomes fearfully aware that he’s back to finish what he started.

Nola Strate is being watched, again.

After an encounter with a notorious serial killer in the Pacific Northwest as a child, Nola has grown up and tried her best to forget her traumatizing night with The Hiding Man. She installed security cameras outside her Oregon home, never spoke of her experience, and now hosts Night Watch, a popular radio call-in show her semi‑famous father used to run. When coincidences lead Nola to believe that she is being stalked, and a caller on Night Watch has a live incident with an intruder in the caller’s home—the description of whom is chillingly familiar—Nola is convinced that The Hiding Man has resurfaced and is coming for her.

With a mysterious next‑door neighbor lurking in the shadows, more people getting hurt, the police not taking her concerns seriously, and evidence pointing towards her own father, Nola decides to become, like her listeners, a Night Watcher herself, and uncover the monster behind The Hiding Man’s mask.

My Thoughts: 5/5 stars

When Dennis (of Scaredstraightreads on IG) says a book is possibly taking the top spot for 2025, you have to pick it up. Can confirm – eerie, creepy, intense, and I was 100% freaking myself out when looking at the edge of the woods at night. It’s amazing how many trees look like silhouettes. 

Nola Strate is the host of Night Watch, a radio call-in show, where people share haunting stories and creepy or eerie sightings. One caller describes something that triggers flashbacks for Nola. Back to her childhood and her encounter with and escape from a serial killer known as The Hiding Man. 

Nola is convinced that he has resurfaced after all these years and might be coming back for her. As more people get hurt, the police not helping, neighbors acting strange, and the distinct feeling of being followed, Nola decides she needs to take things into her own hands and become a Night Watcher herself and find The Hiding Man. 

There were parts that had me on the edge of my seat, and I just couldn’t stop reading. Plenty of curveballs to keep you on your toes and guessing on how it’ll all come to an end. I did like the little bit of backstory we got, and I was shocked to see that this was a debut novel! I can’t wait to see what comes from Woolsoncroft next.